A woman was publicly flogged on a street in Sabha, southern Libya after being convicted of “zina,” a legal and religious term in Libyan law that refers to s3xual relations between a man and a woman not bound by a recognized marriage.
The execution, attributed to the local Judicial Police branch, was filmed and subsequently shared on social media, sparking harsh reactions from human rights organizations.
In the viral video, a man reads to those present a document purported to be a ruling from the Sebha Criminal Court, which supposedly orders the execution of the sentence in public.
Immediately afterward, a uniformed Judicial Police officer repeatedly strikes the woman, who is sitting on the ground with her face and body covered.
Security forces vehicles are visible in the background.
The incident was denounced by the National Institution for Human Rights in Libya (NIHRL), an independent Libyan civil society organization.
In a statement issued on Friday, July 24, 2026, NIHRL recalls “the practices of extremist and terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State, Ansar al-Sharia, and Al-Qaeda.”
The organization called the public execution “a dangerous precedent,” denouncing a violation of the procedures established by the very law invoked to justify the punishment.
NIHRL also claims that the woman was punished “alone and without her partner” and accuses the Sabha Criminal Court of ordering street floggings exclusively against women.
To date, neither the Court nor the Judicial Police have provided public clarification on the incident.
Flogging for zina is expressly provided for under Libyan law: both the corporal punishment and, in this specific case, the public manner of its execution are being contested
Law No. 70 of 1973, approved on October 2, 1973, by the Revolutionary Command Council during Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, provides for one hundred lashes for the offender and allows the court to add a prison sentence.
The provision applies to adults of sound mind who acted knowingly.
The law itself, however, establishes specific conditions. The flogging can only be carried out after the sentence has become final and after a medical examination that excludes any risk to the convicted person.
Article 7 also stipulates that the sentence be carried out within a police station, in the presence of the competent representative of the prosecutor’s office, a doctor, and a group of Muslims.
In the case of a woman, she must remain seated and her body must be covered.
The NIHRL described this as “the highest level of humiliation, public exposure, and discrimination,” accusing bodies formally charged with carrying out judicial decisions of exceeding their powers.
